Authors: Hall W, Buckley M, Crotty P, O'Morain CA.

Institution: Department of Gastroenterology, Adelaide & Meath Hospital, Trinity College, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland, UK.

Background and Aims: Mast cells might be involved in pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia because they can release a wide range of potent mediators, capable of altering gastric nerve and muscle function. This study aimed to determine whether mast cell numbers were increased in the gastric mucosa of patients with functional dyspepsia compared to control subjects.

Results: Mast cells were significantly increased in H. pylori negative functional dyspepsia samples compared to normal control samples in the antrum (230.1 +/- 11.3 vs. 94.8 +/- 8.4, P < 0.001) and corpus (264.1 +/- 27.1 vs. 123.9 +/- 11.5, P = 0.001). Mast cells were also significantly increased in the antrum of patients with H. pylori positive functional dyspepsia compared to asymptomatic control subjects (166.5 +/- 17.0 vs. 94.8 +/- 8.4, P < 0.03). However, there was no significant difference between mast cell numbers in patients with H. pylori positive functional dyspepsia compared to inflammatory control subjects.

Conclusions: Mast cells are increased in functional dyspepsia, independently of inflammation. This might contribute to the pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia by altering signaling in the brain-gut axis.

Study link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15017654&query_hl=94

• Mast Cell Involvement in Gastritis With or Without Helicobacter Pylori Infection
• Gastric Mucosal Mast Cells are Increased in Helicobacter pylori-negative Functional Dyspepsia
• Inflammation as a Basis for Functional GI Disorders
• Gastric Inflammatory Markers and Interleukins in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia, With and Without Helicobacter Pylori Infection